All-American News

44th Annual Conference of the National Black Nurses Association In Memphis Aug. 2-7

44th Annual Conference of the National Black Nurses Association In Memphis Aug. 2-7
by Sharonda D. Walker
Memphis will be hosting the 44th Conference of the National Black Nurses Association here in Memphis at the Cook Convention Center & the Sheraton Memphis Downtown, August 2 – 7th, 2016. Linda Green – President of Memphis River Bluff Black Nurses & presently a RN at the VA Hospital eagerly invites all RNs, LPNs and nursing students of color to participate in this historic event. They are expecting 1500 Black Nurses from around the world to be in attendance. According to Ms. Green, “Yes, this conference will be hosted here in Memphis and is one that if you are a nurse, you definitely don’t want to miss. It’s a group of mostly, black professional women who will inspire you and motivate you in the wonderful world of care. There will be many professionals here to let the younger nursing students know that blacks are in leadership roles in our very rewarding profession. They will see all the many different avenues there are and that you don’t have to be in the hospital or clinics at all times; you can be in education, you can be chief of hospitals. Some are even CEOs, owning their own businesses and some do counseling along with the so many other emerging roles that are now available to nursing profession. They can even take classes and get CEU-continuing education units on different medical conditions. There will be plenty to get involved with at this conference.“

Photo Caption: Members of the Memphis River Bluff Black Nurses Association hosting their Annual Nurses Luncheon at the Church Health Center.

Becoming a chartered member of the National Black Nurses Association only added more impact to the local initiatives of the Memphis River Bluff Black Nurses Association which back in 1979 was founded by a group of local black nurses needing an avenue for them to come together to discuss their issues and concerns regarding the health and care of the black community with specifics services. They got together and started allocating and educating black Americans through health fairs and health screenings to try to improve the quality of care for our people and they still continue to this day. In fact, recently, they held an Annual Nursing Luncheon at the Church Health Center in May with many local nurses in attendance. The sole purpose of these umbrella- organizations arose out of the fact that back in the early 70’s; there was not enough caring for the African American community. Ms. Green elaborates, “Although, the doors had just been opened after the passing of the Civil Rights Bill; it was still difficult for equality and fairness in the nursing profession. You had to have the resources and I don’t think the resources were available to us like they should have been, back then. This is where the Black Nurses came in; they become an advocate to let black people know about the resources that were available to them. One of our goals now is to first of all, increase awareness of the Memphis River Bluff Black Nurses Association and what we are all about and second of all, increase the quality of care in educating the black community by continuing to put out the resources that are available to us. Since we have a lot of people in our culture who simply don’t ask questions, it’s important for us to have a lot of health fairs to educate people on the major diseases like cancer, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease that are affecting our communities.”
If you are RNs, LPNs and Nursing Students of Color who are committed to providing quality care to your community and are willing to learn more among the best in the world; then, you should register today for this historic 44th Conference of the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) by contacting Linda Green at 901.261.4534 or 901.261.4500.